Legal age of consent in japan code#

Moreover, intercourse with a person between 13 and 15 will be punished if the perpetrator is five or more years older. The changes include declaring sexual intercourse with a person of the age 13 as illegal regardless of consent. Now, the ministry wants to overhaul the laws in Japan. Can the 13-year-old show a Yes or No intention for sexual activity?” What if your child was 13 years old? Think of your 13-year-old brother or sister. The petition had read: “Imagine when you were 13 years old. In November 2020, a group called ‘Your Voice Matters’ had launched an online petition. The proposal to change to Japan’s consent age comes after repeated calls on the same issue. Image used for representational purposes/AFP However, no one over the age of 14 can have sex with 13–14 year-olds. Japan’s legal age to indulge in consensual sex is currently 13 years. But, 13 and 14-year olds are permitted to give consent to each other. The minimum sentence for sex with any female under the age of 13 is five years. However, the laws around sex and rape in Japan are a bit ambiguous under the Juvenile Obscene Acts, passed in 1947, no one over the age of 14 can have sex with 13–14 year-olds. In the over 100 years since then, the age hasn’t changed and is today one of the world’s lowest ages. Therefore, the age of 13, which is two years younger than 15, was considered sensible. In addition, the legal marriageable age was 15 back then. In society at that time, 13 was regarded as a reasonable age of consent. At that time, the average life expectancy of women was 44 years, and it was common for women to marry and have children at a young age.

It has been 13 years since 1907 when the Penal Code of Japan set the age limit.

Legal age of consent in japan code#